The Music Room => Classical Music for Beginners => Topic started by: mahlertitan on May 06, 2007, 11:01:39 AM

www.naxosmusiclibrary.com (http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com)Is there a piece of classical music that you desperately want to hear? you'll find it at Naxos.

www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/discoveringmusic/audioarchive.shtml (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/discoveringmusic/audioarchive.shtml)BBC Discovering Music Archive: An excellent resource for beginners and experienced listeners alike, with illustrated audio talks on a wide range of composers and pieces.

www.columbia.edu/itc/music/reserves/ (http://www.columbia.edu/itc/music/reserves/)Columbia University Music Reserves, the selection is limited, but the recordings are excellent.

http://www.archive.org/ (http://www.archive.org/)Contains massive amounts of documents, videos, and audio, although the quality is somewhat questionable.

http://classical.com (http://classical.com)not as good as Naxos, but decent enough to deserve a mention.

An excellent resource for beginners and experienced listeners alike, with illustrated audio talks on a wide range of composers and pieces.

Definitely a great resource :).

Another programme I like on Radio 3 is the CD Review on Saturday mornings, in particular the Building a Library segment. Sometimes, it can be rubbish depending on who's presenting it, but this week's on Mahler 9, for example, was pretty good. They play excerpts and comment on different recordings, which, when done well, can be quite illuminating. I also learnt that 'Ancerl' isn't pronounced as spelt :-[ ;D.

Unfortunately, the programme isn't archived, but can be listened to online for up to a week after its broadcast.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: The Mad Hatter on May 13, 2007, 01:56:38 PM

Public Domain scores: www.imslp.org (http://www.imslp.org)

A directory of free downloadable classical tracks online: www.classiccat.com (http://www.classiccat.com) (obviously not generally amazing recordings, but it's good to test if you like a work or composer)

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: orbital on May 14, 2007, 07:00:57 AM

http://www.classicalarchives.com/

A very large site with tons of information, live recordings and midi files (both live and score) from almost all composers who ever lived :D Free membership has a limit of 5 files a day though.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: George on May 14, 2007, 07:04:25 AM

A very large site with tons of information, live recordings and midi files (both live and score) from almost all composers who ever lived :D Free membership has a limit of 5 files a day though.

i've been to that site long time ago, it sucks, they only have midis, and even for midis, they only have incomplete collection of composer's works, the only time you should go to that site is if you like Russian composers.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: orbital on May 14, 2007, 08:35:50 AM

i've been to that site long time ago, it sucks, they only have midis, and even for midis, they only have incomplete collection of composer's works, the only time you should go to that site is if you like Russian composers.

It might have changed from the time that you've been there perhaps MT. They have live recordings (albeit by unknown performers mostly) as well, but their midi collection is not matched anywhere else. Where else would I be able to find the midi (and thus the score) of that Kempff transcription of Gluck's Orpheus' Lament :D

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: mahlertitan on May 14, 2007, 08:40:06 AM

It might have changed from the time that you've been there perhaps MT. They have live recordings (albeit by unknown performers mostly) as well, but their midi collection is not matched anywhere else. Where else would I be able to find the midi (and thus the score) of that Kempff transcription of Gluck's Orpheus' Lament :D

why would i want midis, if i can listen to mp3 version of just about anywork on Naxosmusiclibrary.com?

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: orbital on May 14, 2007, 08:45:37 AM

why would i want midis, if i can listen to mp3 version of just about anywork on Naxosmusiclibrary.com?

not to listen to of course. I get the midi files to learn pieces, especially if it is a rare piece (such as the one I mentioned above), a midi file may easily be converted into a pdf format score and printed out.

But apart from that it may be a nice place for beginners to listen to different composers, last time I checked they had live recordings from over 750 composers :)

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: Que on May 14, 2007, 08:52:15 AM

not to listen to of course. I get the midi files to learn pieces, especially if it is a rare piece (such as the one I mentioned above), a midi file may easily be converted into a pdf format score and printed out.

But apart from that it may be a nice place for beginners to listen to different composers, last time I checked they had live recordings from over 750 composers :)

that is true, i used to do that to, but it's a bitch converting midi into a score, and the worst of all, you lose all the tempo, dynamic markings.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: Joan on June 17, 2007, 08:07:34 PM

Classic Art Showcase http://classicartsshowcase.org/ (http://classicartsshowcase.org/) This is a broadcast feature that appears on various PBS or cable channels (usually at weird times like 2:00 am) it's a collection of clips from opera, dance, and concert films. It's a great way to sample all kinds of different material. I've just started trying to catch it again; it seems like the quality of material has improved compared to what I remember years ago.

Last week they showed a clip from the documentary series Leaving Home: Orchestral Music in the 20th century, presented by Simon Rattle. http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=102073 (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=102073) It's available from Netflix (except for episodes 3 and 7; maybe they lost them and had to re-order?) - I'm waiting for them to send vol. 1. Has anyone seen this? Any thoughts on it?

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: mahlertitan on June 17, 2007, 08:37:11 PM

Classic Art Showcase http://classicartsshowcase.org/ (http://classicartsshowcase.org/) This is a broadcast feature that appears on various PBS or cable channels (usually at weird times like 2:00 am) it's a collection of clips from opera, dance, and concert films. It's a great way to sample all kinds of different material. I've just started trying to catch it again; it seems like the quality of material has improved compared to what I remember years ago.

Last week they showed a clip from the documentary series Leaving Home: Orchestral Music in the 20th century, presented by Simon Rattle. http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=102073 (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=102073) It's available from Netflix (except for episodes 3 and 7; maybe they lost them and had to re-order?) - I'm waiting for them to send vol. 1. Has anyone seen this? Any thoughts on it?

yep, i used to wach lots of CAS, in fact, that's how i began listening to classical music. I think i saw a clip of "Carmen" there years ago, and it began.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: knight66 on June 17, 2007, 09:35:03 PM

The thread is an excellent idea and accords with Rob's concept of helping and informing people newly interested in the sort of music people here like. I have therefore made the topic sticky so it will remain at the top of the board.

Heres (http://www.amazon.com/Billboard-Illustrated-Encyclopedia-Classical-Music/dp/0823076989/ref=sr_1_2/103-6469067-9262259?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182999180&sr=1-2) a link to some more info on it.

I wish I'd had a book like this when I was first getting into classical music at age 19. :)

This looks really good! I checked out the excerpts on Amazon. Nice to see that it has chapters on non-Western music. Thanks for posting this. There are so many guide books out there and after a while they sort of blur into one another, so the really exceptional ones get lost in the crowd.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: RebLem on October 31, 2007, 04:10:32 AM

Two books I heartily recommend:

!. What to listen for in music by Aaron Copland. The best music appreciation primer around, and available for about a buck in a well stocked used bookstore.

2. The All Music Guide to Classical Music by numerous writers. This is a large paperback; my copy of the 2005 edition is 1,607 pages long and was priced at $34.95 USD. It is revised regularly; I recommend getting a new one about every 5 years. Its wonderful. They have brief bios of most important composers, both the who, what, when, where stuff and interpretive information about how they fit into the whole scheme of things. Then essays on each of what they consider said composer's major works, and their judgment in these matters, while not flawless, is pretty good. Then, a list of recommended recordings for each one, also pretty good, though not flawless. At least, I find myself tearing my hair out and yelling, "Why the hell did they recommend that record?" a lot less than with other books which recommend specific recordings.

For the Dvorak 9th, for example, they recommend the Kubelik/BPO set of all nine, and individual recordings by Ashkenazy, Szell, Davis, and Kertesz. Actually, I haven't heard the Ashkenazy or the Davis, but the others are excellent. I do wish they had added three more, though--Ancerl, Giulini/CSO, and my all time favorite, the Zdenek Macal/London Phil recording on the budget Classics for Pleasure label. But, fact is, this AMG list is pretty good, so good that I am putting those Ashkenazy and Davis CDs on my want list today.

In addition to composers, they have articles on specific orchestras and chamber ensembles, conductors, and various soloists.

One thing that people find some difficulty with when starting out is finding out something about the vocabulary of whatever discipline it is. One resource which I find very valuable is a free on-line music dictionary at Virginia Tech. http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/

The have definitions for thousands of musical terms. One other thing they have that I think is unique (at least, I haven't come across it anywhere else) is that they have an audio pronunciation guide for every word in the dictionary. You click on a button near the word, and you hear a knowledgeable person actually pronounce the word for you. Unfortunately, they don't have the names of any composers or performers or ensemble names, just generic musical terms, but it is a very valuable resource.

Title: Re: Some Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: Shrunk on November 07, 2007, 05:10:44 PM

I would strongly recommend all of these two books. Helped me massively.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71DCG0W13QL._AA240_.gif)

This is a great book. Usually can get it for under a tenner. To me its everything you need from a Classical Music for Beginners Book. Guides you through the eras, brief snapshots of the composers first, little history lessons on who came when etc and then the bulk of the book is the 50 composers list. Each is given 4-5 pages, guides you through works from a basic library to an expanded collection. And above all it speaks on a easy to understand level whilst being written very intelligently and with a good dose of humour. No snobbery or tech speak.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B4JZ384PL._AA240_.jpg)

Again this is a good cheap book (about a fiver at most) which is written for people daunted by classical music. Its superbly written and again plenty of humour and the way he writes it as if he too is standing in front of classical music looking scared makes you really relate.

I would strongly recommend all of these two books. Helped me massively.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71DCG0W13QL._AA240_.gif)

This is a great book. Usually can get it for under a tenner. To me its everything you need from a Classical Music for Beginners Book. Guides you through the eras, brief snapshots of the composers first, little history lessons on who came when etc and then the bulk of the book is the 50 composers list. Each is given 4-5 pages, guides you through works from a basic library to an expanded collection. And above all it speaks on a easy to understand level whilst being written very intelligently and with a good dose of humour. No snobbery or tech speak.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B4JZ384PL._AA240_.jpg)

Again this is a good cheap book (about a fiver at most) which is written for people daunted by classical music. Its superbly written and again plenty of humour and the way he writes it as if he too is standing in front of classical music looking scared makes you really relate.

Where did you get these, Daniel? I'm quite interested in the first one. :)

http://www.inkpot.com/classical/ This is a site based in Singapore. Although a site for CD reviews, it's not very extensive, but it has these articles called Inktroductions, which are introductions (duh!) to many of the most famous (or oft-played, however you wish to call them) works in western classical music. You'll have to go through a couple of links from the page mentioned above to reach these articles. I'll save you the trouble. Beethoven's symphonies from 1-8 and "symphony No. 10" (http://inkpot.com//classical/beethsyms.html) (There's a separate article for the 9th.)

I thought I would post this in the 'Classical Music for Beginners' section seeing as they are good guides for new listeners.

Unlocking the Masters are a series of books from Amadeus Press:http://www.amazon.co.uk/unlocking-masters/s/qid=1238509382/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=unlocking%20the%20masters&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aunlocking%20the%20masters%2Ci%3Astripbooks

They are aimed at 'amateur' listeners and have little in the way of technical content. Each book tends to take you through the music, outlining what to listen for and explaining the form and content, as well as external aspects such as historical context and composer biography etc. Each book comes with one or two CDs.

At the moment, they have books for the following composers: Mahler,Beethoven,Shostakovich,Chopin,Mozart (two books: one instrumental and one vocal),Wagner,Tchaikovsky,Sibelius,Puccini,Dvorak,Brahms,Monteverdi,Debussy,Haydn,Liszt.

They also have a book called The Great Instrumental Works, which is a general survey of instrumental music.

Two new books are going to be released this year. One on Schubert and one on Bach.

Personally, I have the Instrumental Works one, the Mahler book, both of the Mozart books, plus the Beethoven, Wagner , Sibelius and Shostakovich editions.

I have had a lot of enjoyment reading the Mahler one in particular. The quality does vary as they are written by different authors. I can recommend most of the David Hurwitz books in this series, as I find his ideas about the music clearly expressed and interesting to read.

In general, I think they are excellent guides, helping to give the listener enough information to enjoy and understand the music.

I recommend them to anyone starting out who is unsure where to start or feeling 'lost' when listening to a specific composer.

Totally agree with you. This is a great series for not just beginners but for people who are experienced and want to explore other composers. The Mahler book for example was very helpful to me as I took my first steps into his music.

I am new to this forum, however not new to classical music (although I am not a pro, I don’t even play an instrument, it's embarrassing). I love classical music, and I always found it a pity that only few people have found access to classical music and the great joy it can bring to our lives.That's why I have recently written an article on how to enable "newbies" an easy access to it. I posted it on my blog and would very much appreciate your comments and ideas on how to make it even easier for beginners to get to know classical music. The link to the post is http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/20...an-easy-entry/ Would be great to hear from you!

I thought I would post this in the 'Classical Music for Beginners' section seeing as they are good guides for new listeners.

Unlocking the Masters are a series of books from Amadeus Press:http://www.amazon.co.uk/unlocking-masters/s/qid=1238509382/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=unlocking%20the%20masters&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aunlocking%20the%20masters%2Ci%3Astripbooks

They are aimed at 'amateur' listeners and have little in the way of technical content. Each book tends to take you through the music, outlining what to listen for and explaining the form and content, as well as external aspects such as historical context and composer biography etc. Each book comes with one or two CDs.... D.

I'm pleased to see that the Canadian prices are actually a bit cheaper than the U.K. or the U.S. ... see at Amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/search?search-alias=stripbooks&field-author=&select-author=field-author-like&title=%22unlocking+the+masters%22&select-title=field-title&subject=&select-subject=field-subject&field-isbn=&field-publisher=&field-binding=&field-dateop=before&field-datemod=0&field-dateyear=2009&mysubmitbutton1.x=54&mysubmitbutton1.y=5).

Haven't seen this mentioned here... The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's highly acclaimed "Beyond the Score" programs have been franchised out to other orchestras in the US. These programs consist of a multimedia presentation with actors and narrators and video alongside live musical excerpts played live by the orchestra, which give historical context and structural guidance. The second half of the program then consists of a complete performance of the given work. I find these to be very well done and informative to both novices and more advanced listeners alike. Apart from being perhaps able to catch a persentation at your local orchestra soon, the Beyond the Score Website (http://beyondthescore.org/programs.html) has a number of complete videos of past presentations with the CSO. I find the Bartok Miraculous Mandarin production with Boulez to be particularly excellent.

Title: I'm getting a lot from this current Vanderbilt series:
Post by: Palmetto on March 14, 2011, 01:14:46 PM

http://news.vanderbilt.edu/tag/classical-music/

These are recorded videos of a continuing ed class being conducted by Vanderbilt U. in conjunction with the Nashville Symphony. The audio quality is iffy on the first two, especially the filmed 'Peter and the Wolf' performance presented as an in-class movie. However, as a beginner I found it well worth the minimal effort to get past the shaky audio, and the quality of the sound improved with the third class.

The symphony conductor and a senior college staffer alternate leading the class. There are six 90-minute classes at the time I posted this. It looks like these are being presented on a bi-weekly basis. I hope this course isn't over, but there are already episodes covering strings, brass and woodwinds, and percussion.

It's rather strange that the stream doesn't play for you, even with the recommended player. I have created a bash script which will download the stream and convert it to MP3 before storing it in the hard drive. Due to my ISP's free download time being at ungodly hours, I'll not download them, but if you have access to a Linux machine with mplayer and lame installed, I'll be happy to share the script with you. :)

but I don't have access to a Linux machine. I've dabbled in Linux enough in the past to know that doing so again would just distract from what I'm trying to accomplish here.

Besides, I don't think it would matter. I notice a lot of the content on the BBC site is blocked from my because apparently my IP address identifies me as not being in the UK. I suspect this is the same issue with the .RAM files: I can't play them because I can't even access the content. I sent an e-mail using the site's 'Contacts' link about a week ago but never received a reply.

Besides, I don't think it would matter. I notice a lot of the content on the BBC site is blocked from my because apparently my IP address identifies me as not being in the UK. I suspect this is the same issue with the .RAM files: I can't play them because I can't even access the content. I sent an e-mail using the site's 'Contacts' link about a week ago but never received a reply.

My IP is not from the UK either, and I don't use a proxy, but I can listen to the programmes in question.

Title: I've also found these links to be helpful.
Post by: Palmetto on March 28, 2011, 06:07:56 AM

This site offers some useful 'Getting Started' info, but I found these two pages to be especially useful:

Classical will go from pindrop quiet to eardrum-busting loud before you even start to twitch your fingers to the volume control. Initially you’ll probably get really frustrated by this and be constantly adjusting the volume.

I think that's why I wound up listening to several selections from here for a couple of days:

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/listen/podcasts

I noticed the changes in volume in these pieces weren't as radical. Someone later pointed out to me that most of this is chamber music. At this stage I don't know whether the music was written with fewer volume shifts, if the small number of instruments keeps the volume more stable, if the musicians involved simply chose to play that way, or the likely combination of more than one of the above.

Someone suggested that I put up here something I suggested in another thread. The question was how to recognize instrumental tones, and I replied that I knew no better instruction for that than Benjamin Britten's Young Persons' Guide to the Orchestra, also known as the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Henry Purcell. 8)

Title: Re: Good Resources for Beginners
Post by: The Diner on April 10, 2011, 11:28:43 AM

Here is a young fellow who has posted 50 lessons in learning music theory. If you can get past his lightheartedness, there is much to be learned form this crazy young person!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB585CE43B02669C3 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB585CE43B02669C3)"Hello, I'm a pianist and piano teacher. This channel is focused on providing 100% free musical education for people who have a passion to learn music, but might not be able to afford it or are curious about music..."Andrew Furmanczyk

Here is a young fellow who has posted 50 lessons in learning music theory. If you can get past his lightheartedness, there is much to be learned form this crazy young person!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB585CE43B02669C3 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB585CE43B02669C3)"Hello, I'm a pianist and piano teacher. This channel is focused on providing 100% free musical education for people who have a passion to learn music, but might not be able to afford it or are curious about music..."Andrew Furmanczyk

Dear experts in classical music, Who was the best conductor to record all of nine symphonies of Beethoven? According to your tastes... Who was the first to record all his symphonies? Toscanini and NBC Orchestra in 1930?

Dear experts in classical music, Who was the best conductor to record all of nine symphonies of Beethoven? According to your tastes... Who was the first to record all his symphonies? Toscanini and NBC Orchestra in 1930?

Your first question could start a war! :)

I don't know about best but Toscanini is darned good. There should be some Cantelli in the archive. He was Toscanini's protege and brilliant.

Dear experts in classical music, Who was the best conductor to record all of nine symphonies of Beethoven? According to your tastes... Who was the first to record all his symphonies? Toscanini and NBC Orchestra in 1930?

Welcome to the forum. :) There is an ongoing discussion on that question, to be found here: http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21417.0.html

On the second question, I believe indeed the first complete cycles came in the 30s, another was by Felix Weingartner on EMI.